As a rule, I prefer cool-coloured flowers, and even then will choose yellow or orange (particularly yellow-orange) over red—with one exception: red and white striped flowers.

Shima nishiki tree peony, along the Azeala Pathway^[1] , 24may22, approx 12:30; sonyA7c, tamron 70–180mm (at 97mm), f/6.3, ev +0.3, 1/160s, ISO 100, WB: cloudy; cropped & scaled.

I love my (blue-based reddish) magenta and white shima nishiki, but the name suggests the flowers ought to be blood red and white, as this beautiful example is. Like my plant, it also has the tendency to throw up solid red blooms, which I remove to keep the plant from reverting.^[2]

Shima nishiki tree peony, triangle bed; 25may22, 12:20, sony A7c, 90mm sony macro, f/5.0, ev 0, 1/100s, WB: cloudy, cropped & scaled.

Nichols Arboretum (to my knowledge) has two shimi-nishiki tree peonies, one along the Azeala path to the right of the main beds as you enter the garden, and this other newer one in what I call the ‘hidden bed’ and the master gardener taking care of the Peony Garden designates as the ‘Triangle bed’ —it's on the far end of the garden, rather hidden behind the Euro-American tree peony bed: follow that one's perimeter in a westerly (i.e. back towards the entrance) direction and you be able to spot this hodgepodge of cultivars in a delightful woodland setting.

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